Abilene City Council approves finances, allocates excess funds to projects

The Abilene City Council approved the city’s comprehensive financial report for 2017, while also allocating some money from its fund balance and previous capital improvement projects toward other ends.

The council voted to allocate $1 million in excess funds to street maintenance at Maple & Colony Hill Road, plus $415,000 to help replace the city’s phone system and $750,000 toward new finance and payroll software.

“What we would love to see eventually is a full-width, full-length collector and arterial on Maple and on Colony Hill, but even with the developers paying all of their responsibility, we are still probably short on the Colony Hill piece about a million dollars,” said Mike Rains, director of finance for the city. “And that is our responsibility by (city) ordinance.”

The city’s fund balance policy requires it to maintain enough money in the general fund to cover three months of expenses. Currently the fund exceeds the three-month reserve requirement by $2.166 million.

The city has a policy that excess revenues be spent according to a funding priority list, also allowing the city manager to recommend a program that differs from the list if a business necessity exists.

The current funding priority list is 50 percent to be set aside for street maintenance expenditures and 50 percent to be set aside for the fire apparatus replacement fund.

But the city funded the fire apparatus replacement fund through the 2018 general fund budget, while its current phone system needs replacement and its payroll software no longer meets its needs, Rains said.

“We have developed a funding plan to pay for (fire apparatus) through our budget every year, so we’re actually transferring $1.01 million in this year from the general fund,” he said. “We will maintain that level for the next few years until we see what the actual purchases will be. But we feel that will actually be sufficient to cover all their needs for the next 15-20 years.”

Councilman Steve Savage expressed some disappointment in the proposed uses, going on to cast the sole dissenting vote.

“Every year we have this discussion,” he said. “It’s supposed to go to streets and fire apparatus, but then we are always looking to take away from the fire department.”

City Manager Robert Hanna said that he would not recommend the items if staff thought they were irresponsible expenditures.

“I believe professionally, without a shadow of a doubt, that we have fully funded our fire apparatus needs, unless we build a new fire station and have to produce new fire equipment to fill that station until 2040,” Hanna said. “Council did that when they adopted that plan this fiscal year. You can put more money in the fire apparatus fund, but it’s money, frankly in my opinion, not being spent on other needs the city could fund.”

Councilmember Bruce Kreitler said he liked the way the system was currently.

“I frankly like how it’s set up now: that we have to actually look, discuss as we’re doing now, and publicly vote on what we do with that money,” he said. “… It makes us consciously, publicly decide what to do with those funds.”

The council also approved leftover money be taken from certificates of obligation from previous years, plus some money from general capital projects, and reallocated it toward other needs.

A total of $251,400 will be allocated toward the city’s Fire Training Facility, while an additional $207,100 will go toward funding to the city’s planned phone system.

Hanna told the council that he anticipated the phone system upgrade would cost about $650,000.

In other business, the council heard and approved on first reading some proposed changes to fees and charges, including bumping up the adult price of admission to Adventure Cove by 50 cents to $7, and possibly imposing a fee of $20 for those who want to use City of Abilene electrical outlets in city parks.

There are also proposals to impose a $135 fee for anyone who signs up to take the shallow water lifeguarding course, required to be a lifeguard at Adventure Cove, a fee structure for the Mayor’s Race, a new recreation event, and a track admission fee for the TAAF track meet. The city hosts the event on average every three years.

Expected extra revenue yearly is estimated to be between $10,000 to $15,000. A public hearing and second reading will be March 22. Savage voted against approving the first reading.

The council also voted to repeal a cable franchise agreement ordinance in 1998. State law now preempts the city’s ordinance.